I took my time walking through the condo putting shit together that I wanted to take with me. I had called around to a few apartment spots in Newport News and other parts of Virginia. I was leaving the Virginia Beach area for good. There was no way I could stick around after the humiliation Duke had put me through.
I had put the last of my things in my Louis Vuitton luggage that Duke had bought me when he sent me on an all-expense paid trip to the Caribbean when I was startled by a loud bang at the front door. I jumped. I crinkled my eyebrows and listened intently. That’s when I heard the bang again. I put my hand over my mouth. I had been completely wrong. It was Duke! And he was trying to take the fucking door off the hinges to get to me.
“Bitch! You better open this fucking door!”
When I heard his voice, the banging and then the kicking on the door, my heart sank into the pit of my stomach. A hot flash came over my body at the sound of his deep, baritone voice. I could tell he was more than livid. I immediately started rushing through the luxury high-rise condominium where I had been living for the past six months. It was indeed his fucking condo and he was making sure I knew that. It was time to put my Plan B into motion. Quick, fast and in a hurry.
“Damn, damn, shit!” I cursed as I gathered shit up. I didn’t know how I had let myself get caught slipping. I planned to be the fuck out of dodge before Duke could get wind of my deeds. I had definitely not planned my escape correctly.
“Lynise!” Duke’s voice boomed again with additional angry urgency. He started banging even harder and jiggling the doorknob. I was scared as shit, but I wasn’t shocked. I knew sooner or later he would come. After all the shit I had done to him, I would’ve come after my ass too.
“Lynise! Open this fucking door now!” Duke continued to bark from the other side of the door. He didn’t sound like the man I had met and fell in love with. He damn sure didn’t sound like he was about to shower me with cash and gifts like he used to. Not after all the shit I had done . . . or undone I should say.
“Open the fucking door!” he screamed again.
I was shaking all over now. From the sound of Duke’s voice I could tell he wasn’t fucking around. The last time he yanked my ass out of the club by my hair and he wasn’t even half this mad. I could only imagine what he wanted to do to me now.
“Shit!” I whispered as I slung my bag of money over my shoulder and thought about my escape. I whirled around aimlessly but soon realized that my Plan B didn’t include Duke being at the front door of his fifth floor condo. There was nowhere for me to go. It was only one way in and one way out and I damn sure wasn’t jumping off the balcony. If it was the second floor, maybe I would’ve taken a chance but I wasn’t trying to die.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I cursed as I saw my time running out. Duke was a six foot tall hunk of solid muscle. I knew I had no wins.
“Bitch! I’m about to take this fucking door down!” Duke screamed. This time I could hear him hitting the door hard. I couldn’t tell if he was kicking the door or putting his shoulder into it. Although it was his condo, I had changed the locks to keep his ass out.
I spun around repeatedly, trying to get my thoughts together before the hinges gave in to his brute power. Hiding the money I had stolen was paramount. My mind kept beating that thought in my head. I raced into the master bedroom and rushed into the walk-in closet. I began frantically snatching clothes off the hangers. I needed to use them to hide my bag of cash.
Wham!
“Oh my God!” I blurted out when I heard the front door slam open with a clang. I threw the bag onto the floor and covered it with piles of designer clothes. Things Duke and I had shopped for together when shit was good between us.
“Bitch, you thought I was playing with you?” Duke’s powerful voice roared. “Didn’t I tell you, you had to get the fuck out of my crib?”
He was up on me within seconds. I stood defenseless as he advanced on me so fast I didn’t even have time to react. I threw my hands up, trying to shield myself from what I expected to come when he reached out for me. But I was too late. He grabbed me around my neck so hard and tight I could swear little pieces of my esophagus had crumbled.
“Duke, wait!” I said in a raspy voice as he squeezed my neck harder. I started scratching at his big hands trying to free myself so I could breathe.
“What bitch! I told you if you ever fucked with me you wouldn’t like it!” he snarled. “You had all my shit cancelled! You fucked with my money! You had my house burglarized because you cancelled by fucking alarm system! Huh, bitch? You tried to destroy me!” Tears immediately rushed down my face as I fought for air. “Ain’t no use in crying now. You should’ve thought about that shit.”
Duke finally released me with a shove. I went stumbling back and fell on my ass so hard it started throbbing. I tried to scramble up off the floor, but before I could get my bearings I felt his hands on me again. His strong hand was winding into my long hair.
“Ouch!” I wailed, bending my head to try to relieve some of the pressure he was putting on my head.
Duke yanked me up by my hair. Sharp, stabbing pains shot through my scalp.
“Owww!” I cried out as he wrung me around by my hair. I tried to put my small hands on top of his huge, animal hands, but it was no use. Hands I had once loved, I now despised and wished would just fall off.
“You thought it was all good right! You a fucking trifling ass bitch and I want you the fuck out of here before I kill you with my bare hands!” Duke gritted. Then he lifted his free hand and slapped me across my face with all his might.
“Pl-pl-pl-please!” I begged him for mercy. But Duke hit me again.
I was crying hysterically. Partly from the pain of his abuse, but more so from our past. I would have never thought our relationship would come to this. It had been a long road and all I wanted to do was teach him a lesson when I did the shit I did. I never thought I would have been facing this type of torment.
“I want all your shit out of here, you scandalous bitch! And don’t take nothing that I fucking bought!” Duke roared, then he hit me again. This time I felt blood trickle from my nose. My ears were still ringing from the previous blow to my head. He hit me again. I was sure he had knocked one of my teeth loose.
“Yo Ak, get this bitch shit and throw it the fuck out,” Duke called out to one of his boys. He never traveled anywhere alone, except when he used to spend the night. Other nights when he treated me as if I was a booty call, I was sure his boys were outside waiting for him. The one I knew as Chris rushed into the closet and started scooping up my clothes and shoes.
“Wait!” I screamed, but it was for nothing.
“Shut the fuck up!” Duke screamed in response, slapping me again.
I could actually feel my eyes starting to swell. I finally gave up. My spirit was broken, my body was sore. I watched as Chris and another one of Duke’s boys slid back the glass balcony doors and started tossing all my shit over. I doubled over crying. More and more shit went over and I was sure it was raining down on the beautifully manicured law below.
“Yeah . . . that’s enough. Don’t throw none of that jewelry or those furs over. I got bitches I could give that shit to,” Duke said maliciously. His words hurt. “A’ight bitch . . . your time is up.”
I shrunk back thinking he was going to hit me again. But he didn’t. He grabbed me by the arm roughly. “Oww!” I cried out. Duke was squeezing my arm so hard the pain was crazy.
“Let’s go,” he said, pulling me towards the door.
“Nooooo!” I screamed and then I dropped my body weight down towards the floor so he couldn’t pull me.
“Oh bitch, you getting the fuck outta here,” Duke roared. He bent down, hoisted me over his shoulder and started carrying me kicking and screaming towards the door.
“You can’t do this to me! You will regret this Duke Carrington!” I hollered.
“Fuck you!” he spat in return, opening the condo door and tossing me out into the hallway
like a piece of discarded trash. I can’t even describe the feeling that came over me. It was a mixture of hurt, shame, and embarrassment all rolled into one.
Duke slammed the door in my face and I yelled for him to listen to me. My cries fell on deaf ears. My shoulders slumped down in defeat. Duke had left me in the hallway with no shoes, a short nightgown and nothing but my belongings on the lawn outside. I didn’t even have the key to my BMW X6.
“Aggghhh!” I grunted in anger and frustration as raked my hands through my tangled hair.
It was by far not over yet.
I had more revenge left for his ass.
Cheaper to Keep Her Unique
Chapter 20—Naked
The Here and Now
My mind was flooded with thoughts of how I had gotten to this point.
My body was sore. My head hurt. My mind was fucked up. But somehow I had pulled it together to get out of there. I limped out of the Cosmopolitan condominium building half-dressed, with my face swollen and my hair a tangled mess.
I started gathering my things off the lawn. The first thing I tried to locate was my purse and my bag of money I had stolen. My purse was there, but that fucking money was history. My Plan B, my stash and all my hopes and dreams of becoming Mrs. Duke Carrington were gone. All I had left was a few designer dresses, handbags and shoes that were lying on the lawn.
As I picked up my things I could not stop sobbing. I picked up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and slid them on. Of course I had attracted a crowd by now. Then as if he hadn’t dissed me enough, one of Duke’s little cronies came outside, got into my BMW and drove away. I felt like somebody had taken my heart out of my chest and stomped on it.
“Duke Carrington ain’t heard the last from me,” I mumbled to myself just as I looked down and noticed that the pictures and paperwork regarding the adoption ring was still in my purse, where I had put them earlier.
After I had all of my stuff together in one pile, I dug in my purse and got my cell phone. I called a cab and headed to the only place I could rightfully call home . . . or so I hoped. I prayed the entire cab ride that Diamond hadn’t gotten one of the strippers from the club to be her roommate in my place. I felt so stupid running back to my old apartment with my tail between my legs . . . especially since I left there like I was on my high horse.
I dialed Diamond’s number and prayed Brian wasn’t at the apartment with her. She was a totally different person around him. My heart was racing as I waited for her to pick up. She finally did and I just lost it. I cried and cried and cried. It was so bad Diamond couldn’t understand a word I was saying. She finally made out that I was on my way back to the apartment. She was out but told me she would meet me there. I didn’t have my keys anymore, so I hoped Diamond would beat me there. I really didn’t want to be ass out, especially in my condition.
The cab finally pulled into the apartment complex and I dug deep in my purse. I didn’t even have enough fucking money to pay for the cab.
“Mister, I only have twenty dollars but if you give me your card I swear I will call you and pay you later or tomorrow,” I cried, sounding as pitiful as I felt.
“No!” the cabdriver barked. “You pay now or I will call the police!”
“Oh my God! What did I do to deserve this!” I screamed. With my hands shaking I called Diamond again. I was praying she had some cash to loan me. Before I could place the call, Diamond knocked on the cab window. My shoulders slumped with relief. I was never so happy to see her ass.
“Diamond, I don’t have enough to pay him and he’s threatening to call the cops. Please, loan me some cash,” It was a pitiful sight. I had gone from high price shopping sprees, high-class spas and exclusive restaurants to begging for cab fucking fare.
“Girl, you know I got you,” Diamond announced, digging in her purse.
She paid the cabdriver and helped me with my things. As I climbed the old, dirty, worn down stairs to my old apartment, a feeling of depression and shame washed over me. I was right back where I started from, only this time I was worse off. Now I didn’t even have a fucking job to make my own money and Duke had taken all of his money back. Even the money he had rightfully given me was left in the condo when he lifted me up and tossed me out on my ass.
When I got inside the apartment I was even more depressed. I was so used to Duke’s condo with the expensive furniture and beautiful artwork, that the drab, raggedy furniture and old ass walls in the apartment made me feel sick. It looked worse than I had remembered, plus Diamond wasn’t the clean type. When I lived there, I was the one who always kept shit clean. I couldn’t be choosey though, so I just sat my stuff down and flopped down on the couch.
“So, what the fuck happened?” Diamond asked, sitting on the raggedy recliner across from me. I couldn’t even speak without crying. I relayed the entire story for Diamond.
“Oh shit, yeah, I heard about the thing with the cars,” Diamond announced. She had just begun her rambling, so I was going to let her finish was once again failing to inform me about some shit.
“Those stupid muthafuckas tried to sell the parts back to a chop shop that Duke owned,” she continued. “So he caught one of the kids and they told that it was you who had told them to go there and fuck up those cars. Girl, I meant to call you and tell you that I heard that but I was caught up in some dumb shit with Brian.”
I rolled my eyes at her. Truthfully, I wanted to kick her trifling ass but she was the one who took me in. However, she was a trifling bitch at times.
“Diamond, don’t you think that shit should have been top priority on your list!” I finally opened my mouth in an uproar. “I could’ve fucking gotten away if I had known that Duke knew what was up! I was planning on leaving but he got there before I could get out. He got all the money I been stashing!”
Sometimes I thought she was a damn retard. I loved her but she was dense as hell. If she didn’t already strip for a living, I would recommend her ass to be a fucking stripper.
“I’m sorry, girl, I been busy,” Diamond apologized. “So, what you gonna do now?” I thought her tone was kind of condescending, like she was a little happy that I had to come back groveling.
“I’m gonna move back in here and go get my job back. I guess I’m gonna have to make a living somehow,” I lamented.
“You don’t think Duke is gonna bother you anymore, especially after all the shit you told me you did?” Diamond asked.
“I don’t know but I can’t afford to just up and leave. I have nothing,” I said sorrowfully. “All those months . . . as a matter of fact . . . a goddamn year and I ain’t got shit to show for it and now Duke is about to get married and publicly humiliate me even more.”
“Well girl, you win some and you lose some. I guess you better try to get back to work ‘cause ain’t nothing going on but the rent up in this camp here,” Diamond said sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes at her. That was what I had to look forward to. This bitch throwing my failed relationship back up in my face, especially because I had given her such a hard time about her no good ass man over the years.
You win some and you lose some. What kind of bullshit was that? And it was bullshit!
“Well, you can go back to your old room. Lucky thing I didn’t let Shayla move in yet. Now I’ma have to tell that bitch she gotta find some place to live. But anything for you boo,” Diamond said, walking over and hugging me.
“This shit ain’t over Diamond. I’m telling you I can’t just let go like this . . . not this easily,” I told her. “I have to bring this nigga to his knees. The shit I did wasn’t enough. I’m gon’ have to find a way to completely ruin him.”
“Just be careful. I wouldn’t be able to handle coming to your funeral now,” Diamond laughed.
But I knew her she was dead serious. What she didn’t realize was a fool is born every day and the day I was born, I wasn’t that fool. However, I couldn’t say the same for Mr. Duke Carrington.
You win some, you lose some. Fuck t
hat bitch, I planned on winning.
Cheaper to Keep Her Unique
Chapter 21—This Can’t Be Life
I lay around the apartment for a week feeling so depressed that I hardly wanted to get out of bed to eat and wash my ass.
Diamond was doing her usual in and out act. Sometimes I believed that bitch was really on some kind of drugs. Hell, who could stay up four straight days and then crash like that? She was acting like a real crack head. The reason I knew was because my own mother was one and that was her M.O., modus operandi, doing that same bullshit.
Plus, we knew countless dancers in the game who couldn’t help themselves. Those who got hooked on something needed drugs or alcohol to take the edge off. Marijuana was a good drug to get hooked on but for most that didn’t do a damn thing. If anything, it gave them the munchies and they gained weight. Alcohol cut the edge but that induced sleep.
Nope, the hard shit, crack, was the drug that sharpened the senses in the worst way. First, it kept you on your feet for hours and days on end. Then it helped you to crash and crash hard. Finally, it made you paranoid as a whore in an unguarded prison with men who haven’t seen a woman in twenty years.
However, Diamond and I had made a pact to never do drugs. It was especially important since we were working in a strip club, the number one venue for getting hooked on something to cut the edge.
As much as I loved Diamond, I didn’t have time to worry about her. I hoped like hell she had her shit together.
I finally pulled myself together. Enough that I decided I would go and try to get my old job back. I borrowed Diamond’s car while she was asleep of course, and drove over to the Magic City. I took a deep breath when I parked the car. I had to get ready to throw myself at Neeko’s mercy and beg for my old bartending job back. Hell, I’m sure throwing myself on the mercy of the court would have been easier than throwing myself at the mercy of Neeko. Unfortunately, bartending was the only thing I knew how to do to make some money. When I walked in the club, I got more than my fair share of stares and snickers. Still, I held my head high and ignored them.
Cheaper to Keep Her (part 1) Page 11